This Video is Pretty Funny

Jack Black as Jesus...need I say more?

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Can We Trust Him?

With such a bad decision being made about his toupee, can we really trust Obama's new Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with running our executive branch's business offices? I am not saying that Peter Orszag, current director of the Congressional Budget Office, does know what he is doing. I simply question his critical thinking skills.
Lose the wig and let it fly naturally, brother. Our government needs people who could care less about appearance and care more about getting it cleaned up. Hell, being a baldy gives you a naturally propensity for cleaning...so own it!

I'm Back...

After a bit of a break from blogging, I am happy to say that my schedule is now freer to allow me to write more. As many of you know, I am usually busiest towards the end of the semester and just now have I been able to get caught up on grading and planning. I still have a lot to do, but it is getting under control.

Tonight I head to dodgeball practice. As the coach and adviser it will be most difficult to tap into someplace competitive (other than academic competitiveness). I have to keep these guys motivated and going!

A friendly proposition

I was just thinking that the next time my old high school buddies get together we should do something constructive...literally! We spent this weekend destroying a few things and then being constructive (at least by quickly raking the host's yard). I suggest that we propose weekend projects and then choose one place to travel/complete a project. We could paint a room, landscape, etc. The host could provide food and the equipment and then the travelers could help, hang out, and eat.

Just a thought...

A thought now that Congress has rejected the buyout

Vegetarians Brain Shrinkage

In another fabulous study, scientists have shown that vegetarians are more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than normal omnivores. Vitamin B12 (or a lack of this vitamin) is the cause of brain shrinkage in vegetarians and vegans (along with elderly, pregnant women and people who live strictly on Twinkies). Read more HERE.

I always was very smarmy with my veggie-swilling friends in college. They chastised me daily for my love of all things once mobile and breathing grilled, fried and broiled. I heard rant after rant about the healthy benefits of such a life style. Now, I know that there are benefits, but everything in moderation my friend. We have high schoolers drowning themselves in the "gotta Hydrate" frenzy, people eating so much soy that it gets bad for them and eventually the egg will surely be bad for us again, or is it bad now and it will be good for us again? Does anyone know about eggs? Am I supposed to eat them? Will I die if I do? Will I die if I don't? Damn science!

I always told my vegetarian friends in college that they were stupidly arguing with me...now I have scientific proof.

I am a Doctoral Student

Well, I had my cadre of interviews today. I spoke with the dean of graduate studies, my mentor and a few others. I have been "officially recommended for enrollment" in the program!!!

I will be studying, through the great works of western civilization, the relationship between God and Man. I hope to investigate how the western relationship between these two beings has molded modern American religious landscapes. I will get to go to weird churches, get to read great books and explore BIG ideas!

I should be getting my official enrollment packet soon and I will start my studies as soon as 2009 is here. The only thing now is to save a little coin to purchase the $1000 book set Great Books of the Western World.

So hooray for me! Hooray for reading! Hooray for school!

Remember this one...

My nephew says, "NO YOU DON'T!!! I will eat your face off!"

He looks like a little Hannibal Lector, doesn't he??? All he needs is a nice bottle of Chianti.

What a long strange trip...(it will be)

With such a kitschy title, this is obviously sophomoric...how apropos that this particular entry is about my upcoming trip to Ohi-A. During the first week of October I will be joining both family and friends for a rootin'-tootin' good time. High School Football games, pumpkin farms, cows and county fairs will fill a three day schedule.

Friday is the - wait for it - high school homecoming football game. Should be a hefty dose of mulletude kickin' in the ol' 43155. Probably "chaw" in the urinals too! If only I hadn't cut my horseshoe mustache.


Saturday is a fun-filled day (no sarcasm intended) with my seester and my nephew. My parents might tag along, but we are all off to a pumpkin farm to get the little one into some trouble. Yea childhood! This kid is cool! He is my number one bud!


Sunday is the Fairfield County Fair Preview Day. My buddy John, a PR rep from a small liberal arts college in central Ohio, is accompanying me to this lovely day (as well as doing the Friday football fun with me). It should be full of cows, chickens, 4-H projects, funnel cakes and little 4-inch mirrors enscrawled with Motley Crue and Poison album covers.

I will surely come home with a cane from the cane toss, a yard stick from the farm bureau and some salt water taffy. Oh yea, and probably some animal feces in my shoe treads.


I will surely be reporting about this weekend later in the fall.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Ohio University deserves its respect. After decades of jokes and fans only going to the games for the halftime show (that was me!), the Ohio University Bobcat football team gave "No.3" THE Ohio State Buckeyes a RUN FOR THEIR MONEY!!! And they did this with a second-string quarterback (that that OSU).


According to an article in the New York Times, THE Ohio State University wide receiver Brian Hartline said, "O.U. should have won the game. I don’t know how we came out with it.” And I must agree! I have never been so riveted to a football game (and I was listening on the radio! I am not a sports fan and usually could care less so this is a big feat).

The article goes onto say that "Ohio’s inspired play quieted the fans as well as the Buckeyes." Again, I agree.

SO GO FREAKIN' BOBCATS! Get a little respect for some hard work and dumb luck. It goes to show that you can never underestimate the underdog!


UPDATE!!! The Bobcats helped knock old THE Ohio State University from No. 3 in the Coaches and AP Poll to No. 5 on Sunday! Way to go Green and White! Read more HERE.

KWAME IS GONE!!! (or going...)

Well, he is resigning, paying 1 million in restitution, spending 120 days in jail, losing his law license and spending the next five years reporting to his probation officer. Kwame Kilpatrick, soon-to-be-former mayor of Detroit, has pleaded guilty today just before 11 a.m.

Read more about Kwame's downfall HERE.

Second Temple Wall Found

According to the Jerusalem Post, the remnants of the southern wall of Jerusalem that was built by the Hasmonean kings during the time of the Second Temple was uncovered on Mount Zion by the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

The wall is over 2,100 years old and was destroyed during the Great Revolt against Rome in 66 CE. Hopefully, according the archeologists on the scene, they will be uncovering the first temple wall soon. Below is a picture of what the Second Temple would have looked like. Read more about the wall HERE.

RIP Jerry Reed

On September 1st, Jerry Reed passed away from complications with emphysema. Many know old Mr. Reed from his role in the Smokey and the Bandit movies. Known as "The Snowman", Jerry ran the hooch while Bandit took care of the smokies (highway cops). He even took the role of the Bandit on in the third installment of the truck-driving-trilogy.

With such great songs as "Amos Moses", "Eastbound and Down" (the theme from Smokey and Bandit), "She Got the Goldmine (I got the Shaft)" and "When You're Hot", Jerry was one of the true hillbillies of country music. He wasn't New Country and he wasn't a throwback - he was the real McCoy!

Here is a little film that someone posted to YouTube with a rendition of one of Jerry's songs. As I sit in my basement early this morning stranded (because my wife took off to mid-Michigan with MY car keys), I cannot help to think of Mr. Reed and this fabulous song.

The Program is Approved!!!

I got word from HFCC's human resources department this morning that my Doctoral program at Harrison Middleton is officially approved! Yes, after an application process, a few interviews and a little bit of "razzle dazzle" I should be on my way to getting that Doctor of Arts in Humanities.

This is perfect as I have never been one for traditional education. Harrison Middleton will be a one-on-one tutored doctorate degree. I cannot wait to delve deep into the great works and further study the relationship of God and man. I will be knee deep in dead white guys before the end of the school year.

If you aren't aware of the great works, see the list HERE.

Yes, I will be one of those crusty old bespeckled guys who talks about other old crusty guys that no one has read. Ain't life grand?!?

A Day's Outting

So I am trying to kick the cigarette habit and have found myself very angry and anxious as of late - surprise, surprise.

Anyway, V & I went to the Michigan State Fair today. As a veteran of many a fair, I was less than impressed. I have been to county fairs and (of course) the Ohio State Fair. I have won blue ribbons for cooking, etc. and have even taken 1st overall in some (well many) fair competitions. My sister served as a Fair Queen. Needless to say, the Hazlett's are seasoned fair goers.


Fairfield County Fair Grounds

The Michigan State Fair tried, but seemed to fall short. The fairgrounds are in a portion of Detroit that is wrought with burned-out, abandoned houses. The parking lot looked like something out of Mad Max. Now, the Ohio State Fair isn't in the best section of town, but the atmosphere and exhibits are much, much more interesting. Hell, we have a cow, calf and farmer carved out of butter (see below):



The best thing about the fair was the cotton candy (some of the best I have had in my life). On the way home, V & I took the long way down Seven Mile through Detroit. V hadn't seen that section of town and being that I had been all around our fair city back in '02, I wanted to show her.

We were able to secure a bean pie from the Nation of Islam. At a traffic light a cadre of bow-tied men were walking car to car hocking the bean pies as a "school fund raiser." Even though we were glared at when asked, we thought, "What the hell?" From what I had previously heard, the little navy bean pies were tasty. Well, those people were correct!

We bought two (more so because I didn't have change for a $20 and was afraid to ask - the guy didn't look like a change-giving man - at least to whitey) and now have one in the basement freezer for any Ohioans who wander this way and want an authentic taste of Detroit (since the 1930's).


The Bean Pie

Change of Heart (and mind)

Well...

I have dropped my University of Michigan-Dearborn classes and relinquished my student aid. Needless to say, I will NOT be a student at UofM-D. Instead I have decided to pursue a Doctor of Arts (D.A.) degree in humanities in the great works of Western Civilization.

I will get to delve into everything from Aristotle and Kant to Marx and Machiavelli. I get one on one instruction & tutoring, self-guided curriculum design, and I get to establish the questions to be answered. It is OLD SCHOOL education in the most medieval of senses. I cannot wait!

Shocking Revelation: Jesus was a Jew

A new artifact might very well show that the three-day resurrection was a common Jewish story during the time before Jesus was born. While this might not seem shocking, it would show that Christian theology is not as unique as most Christians would like to think...I will keep up on this for you, but in the meantime read the entire article HERE.

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The Secrets of the Amazonian Jungle

The BBC and Brazilian government are reporting today that they have found an "uncontacted" tribe in the Amazon rain forest. Aerial photographs show the settlement of the tribe deep in the forest. The photographs show the men and women of the tribe as well. You can read more about this very interesting discovery HERE.

Party Pictures

HERE THEY ARE!!!
The pictures from Moustache Fandango 2008!

All the boys
(L-R:Me, JohnnyD, JasonD, J.James and J.Blo)

This is me looking like the people I used to work with on the horse ranch.

John with his glorious Franz Josef

Jason looking like a 70's porn star...this 'stache went over really well in Ann Arbor

Jeff couldn't grow a 'stache, so we had some theatrical facial hair for him;
but trust me, he has sported this look before...

Jason D's creepy swashbuckling Cpt. Morgan 'stache. I think he looks like the Unabomber

Jeffchephous pulling off the Sam Elliot look

This Zappa-esque picture of J.James is simply awesome!


*All photos courtesy of JasonD